Monroe Bypass

In September of 2016, Yadkin Riverkeeper's six year fight against the Monroe Bypass toll road project came to an end with an unfavorable decision from a federal court. While we were disappointed that NCDOT continued to push forward this project forward, we were pleased to secure an agreement for NCDOT to fund $1 million dolalrs of conservation work to protect streams in the bypass project area. We thank our partner organizations and community members for all the time they put in to prevent this project.

Get the facts about the proposed Monroe Bypass

The Monroe Bypass would be a $740 million, 20-mile highway through the large exurban-rural area of North Carolina, east of Charlotte. The project would have nine interchanges, and has been heavily promoted by real estate speculators.

The Bypass would destroy at least 499 acres of active agricultural lands. 95 homes, including a number of Century Farms, and 47 businesses will have to be relocated, with 7 neighborhoods being disturbed. 3 churches are also directly impacted.

Only about 40% of the cost of the project would be paid by tolls. The rest would come from taxpayers in the form of an appropriation from the State of $24 million every year for the next 30 years.

There are lower cost alternatives to solving traffic in the region that would spare the many homes and family farms in the way of the bypass project. An NCDOT study found that the vast majority of the congestion in the U.S. 74 corridor could be addressed for $15 million, a fraction of the cost of the Monroe Bypass.